Yes, that was a line from the Spice Girls. You are Welcome.

One of the biggest challenges for businesses on Facebook (or on any social media channel) is to understand the actual content that will drive fans to engage (step 1) and take action (step 2).  The key to success in developing your social media marketing plan is to really understand what it is that your customers want.

A study in September of 2011 asked fans what they want from brands in Facebook.

Your Challenge: Compare your content on Facebook with the content that fans generally want.

Knowing what users expect form you after liking you is the key to posting great content.  One of the challenges to keep in mind is that Fans make the choice to pay you the honor of publicly being your fan. Ask yourself, how can I reward or recognize these fans?

Action for Marketers to Take:

When asking people to fan your page, tell them what they will get by fanning you.  Rather than blindly posting “like us on Facebook” buttons all over your site and in your store, tell them WHAT THEY WILL GET by connecting with you, and make sure that you have a compelling proposition for them.

Dispel Their Fears

Another chart in the Emarketer article asked what has prevented people from fanning a brand.  The results of this are also telling.  The things that prevent people from fanning a brand, are probably also the same things that prevent them from signing up for your email, following you on Twitter or engaging in the rest of your opt-in marketing.

Action for Marketers to Take:

The Implication for marketers is to proactively communicate to avoid not getting liked because of these fears.  Tell them “Don’t worry, we’ll only message you once a month” or “we post once a day” or “we don’t sell your information”. Be sure to do what you can to dispel these fears upfront so that people will still connect with you.